Shoe fastening means



June 23, 1954 s. T. sHEARs SHOE FASTENING MEANS Filed Nov. 5, 1961 Inve :der .Siuar Y'. .Shears by my .112129.

United States Patent @O 3,137,952 SHOE FASTENING MEANS Stuart T. Shears, Behnont, Mass., assignor to United-Carr Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 149,893 3 Claims. (Cl. 36-50) This invention relates to improvements in articles of manufacture such as shoes having special fastening means associated with the upper portions thereof for flexible closing of the usual opening in the shoe upper.

An object of the invention is to provide a product with an improved fastening means adjustably closing an opening in the product.

A specific object of the invention is to replace the ordinary shoe strings used with shoes with a special easily applied preferably flexible strap or straps and preferably for the use of nut and screw fasteners associated with the strap or straps.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe with strap and bolt fastening means that may be easily adjusted to the foot of the wearer and thereafter the wearer may insert or remove his foot without changing the fastening means.

In the drawings which illustrate preferred arrangements of the invention:

FIG. l is a plan view of a shoe showing a fastening arrangement;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the buckle and screw member;

FIG. 5 is an edge view of the buckle and screw member; and

FIG. 6 is an'edge View of a strap and associated buckle and screw member assembled, with the end of the strap tucked back into the buckle.

This invention may be applied to various articles of commerce, but, for the disclosure and description it is applied to a shoe as illustrated in the drawings.

The shoe, shown in FIG. 1, is a conventional one showing the fastening means of the invention applied to the upper 1 at the lacing holes 2 arranged along the opposed edge portions 3 3 at the opening 4. The fastening means preferably includes a flexible stretchable strap 5, a nut member 6 and a screw member 7.

In the particular arrangement of the fastening means illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, one or more combinations thereof may be applied to the shoe. To provide a neat appearance each flexible strap 5 is arranged across the opening 4 and, preferably adjacent to each end, there is provided an adjustable slide buckle S from which depends a screw member 7. A nut member 6 is arranged in each of the lacing holes as shown in FIG. 2.

The nut and screw members 6 and 7 may be of any suitable construction but, for illustration, the screw member 7 is constructed as a flat portion cut and bent from the material of the buckle 8 (FIGS. 4 and 5) and extends normal to the plane of the buckle. Each nut member 6 has a tubular internally threaded barrel portion 9 eX- tending from a flange portion and the nut and screw members engage each other in a hole 2, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Since the nut barrel portion 9 of each nut member 6 is of relatively small diameter and the thread is a relatively fine one, the threads or teeth on the screw are preferably formed at greater spaced intervals than the thread spacing in each nut. By this construction the screw member 7 is more easily and less expensively stamped out by a stronger built die set of tools than "ice,

would be possible with a fine thread to match the thread in the nut barrel, as will be understood by anyone skilled in the art. The screw 7 is provided with shoulders 11 11 at predetermined points on its edges (FIG. 3) to engage the end of the barrel 9 of the nut, thus preventing tightening of the nut and screw to an extent that would tightly clamp the shoe upper between the nut and screw. These shoulders 11-11 assure that the fastening means will be loose with respect to the upper, 4in applied position to the shoe and thereby allow for self-adjusting of the strap 5 for pleasing appearance upon the shoe.

In the arrangement of the parts shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the nuts 6 and screws 7 are first screwed together in the holes 2. Then the strap or straps S are attached to the buckles 8. To facilitate attachment of a strap, each buckle has two slots 12 and 13 (FIG. 4) and a notch 14 adjacent to the slot 12. With this arrangement it is easy to thread one end of a strap through a slot 12 and then grasp the free end of the strap and enter it into the slot 13 through the notch 14 by an edge in-r serting and sidewise movement in first one lateral direction and then the opposite lateral direction.

After the straps are attached, the wearer may insert his foot into the shoe, and the straps 5 may then be adjusted between the buckles 8 8 until the shoe fits comfortably upon the foot of the wearer. Thereafter the wearer may slip his foot into and out of the shoe with ease and the opening 4 is automatically closed by tension exerted by the flexible stretchable straps 5.

A shoe fitted with the improved fastening means of the invention is comfortable to wear, easy to adjust to the foot of the wearer and the fastening parts are so constructed and arranged as to provide a neat and simple appearance. There is nothing to bear uncomfortably against the foot of the wearer.

'I'his invention is applicable to shoes by the shoe manufacturer who may permanently attach the nut members if he so desires. It is also permissible, within the scope of the invention, to attach one end of the strap in any permanent manner to one side of the shoe and use only the fastening members on the other side.

This invention is also adapted for use by the wearer upon any pair of shoes having lacing holes 2. It is easy for the wearer to apply the nuts and screws 6 and 7 and then apply the flexible strap 5 so that he secures the same effective result as if he had purchased the shoes with the fastening means previously applied.

The construction and arrangement of the parts of the invention are such that they are strong and will not pull out, no tools are necessary for application, a fastening means is fully adjustable and will withstand any normal pull exerted by the strap while being worn by the wearer or while he is inserting or removing his foot from the shoe.

In FIG. 6 there is illustrated an arrangement of a strap 5 with a buckle 8 in such a manner as to hide the loose end of the strap when such an arrangement is desired. This arrangement may be accomplished by inserting the free end of the strap through a slot 12 and then folding the strap over the inserted end and the buckle and finally inserting the strap into the slot 13 through the notch 14 in the manner described above. This arrangement of hiding the end of the strap is useful, mainly, for the purpose of appearance.

While there has been illustrated and described a preferred construction of fastening means in association with a shoe and at least two arrangements of straps and buckles, it should be understood that the invention is best defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe having an opening defined by spaced edge portions thereof, said edge portions being movable relative to each other and a fastener device attached to said shoe adjacent one of said edge portions, said fastener device comprising a flexible, stretchable length of strap, a nut member and a screw member, said screw member including a slide buckle and an externally threaded shank member extending from said slide buckle and formed to engage said nut member, said slide buckle having means of engaging one end of said strap, and the other edge portion having means associated therewith for engaging the other end of said strap whereby said strap is placed across the opening defined by said edge portions.

2. A shoe having an opening defined by spaced edge portions thereof, said edge portions being movable relative to each other and a fastener device attached to said shoe adjacent one of said edge portions, said fastener device comprising a flexible, stretchable length of strap, a nut member and a screw member, said nut member including a slide buckle and an internally threaded barrel portion extending from said slide buckle and engaging said screw member through one of said edges, said slide buckle having means of engaging one end of said strap and the other edge portion having means associated therewith for engaging the other end of said strap whereby said strap is placed across the opening defined by said edge portions.

3. A shoe having an opening defined by spaced edge portions thereof, a series of lacing holes formed along each of said edge portions, said edge portions being movable relative to each other and at least two fastening means, one of said fastening-means being attached to each of said edge portions, each of said fastening means comprising a nut member and a screw member, said screw member including a slide buckle and an externally threaded shank member extending from said slide buckle and formed to engage said nut member through one of said lacing holes, and a flexible, stretchable strap having two terminal ends, each of said terminal ends engaging one of said slide buckles whereby said strap, underv tension, extends across said opening defined by said edge portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,493,345 Kern May 6, 1924 2,077,355 Chaffee Apr. 13, 1937 2,109,402 Place Feb. 22, 1938 2,129,949 Lombard Sept. 13, 1938 2,506,332 Bedford May 2, 1950 2,575,226 McHarry Nov. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 221,406 Germany Apr. 28, 1910 213,204 Great Britain Mar. 27, 1924 

1. A SHOE HAVING AN OPENING DEFINED BY SPACED EDGE PORTIONS THEREOF, SAID EDGE PORTIONS BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND A FASTENER DEVICE ATTACHED TO SAID SHOE ADJACENT ONE OF SAID EDGE PORTIONS, SAID FASTENER DEVICE COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE, STRETCHABLE LENGTH OF STRAP, A NUT MEMBER AND A SCREW MEMBER, SAID SCREW MEMBER INCLUDING A SLIDE BUCKLE AND AN EXTERNALLY THREADED SHANK MEMBER EXTENDING FROM SAID SLIDE BUCKLE AND FORMED TO ENGAGE SAID NUT MEMBER, SAID SLIDE BUCKLE HAVING MEANS OF ENGAGING ONE END OF SAID STRAP, AND THE OTHER EDGE PORTION HAVING MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH FOR ENGAGING THE OTHER END OF SAID STRIP WHEREBY SAID STRAP IS PLACED ACROSS THE OPENING DEFINED BY SAID EDGE PORTIONS. 